The Political Compass.

[green-man-2010.livejournal.com]

We recently had a test which showed us ( in the words of those who published the results) that "Self proclaimed Liberals/ leftists were ignorant of economic theory.

And that, i think, is the problem. "Self proclaimed" anybodies should not be taken too seriously till they show some sort of credentials.

And of course, the other thing is that Copnsevative types are depicted as 'smart'. As if money were everything , or could sort everything out.

The fact is that one can be socially consevative and still believe in economic liberalism. Or believe in strict monetarist policies but still find time to smoke pot, use porn and and be outrageously gay!

So, where do we, where do you stand on the political compass? Dare you take the test and find out?

For the record , I am in the same quadrant as Ghandi, Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama. You?

http://www.politicalcompass.org/index

there are no right and wrong answers - it's about what you truly believe. Go read the homepage and the into stuff firs and you will see what it's about.

But, the point is that it's not just left/ right. There are two axes that generate 4 basic political positions. which one is yours?

Comments

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

I feel like we get a political compass post a month here. The compass was libertarian designed to make it so the libertarians could feel like they weren't actually the right wingers they are.

The problem is not in the left/right prism, but in the fact that we've associated left wing statist views like legal opposition to gay marriage to the right and we've associated right wing freedom views like marijuana legalization to the left. If we'd just treat the left/right spectrum as spectrum of more or less government control, we wouldn't have this never-ending debate.

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

"I feel like we get a political compass post a month here."

Yes, once in a while (http://community.livejournal.com/talk_politics/85917.html).

[green-man-2010.livejournal.com]

But this is the whole point - more or less govt control of what? Our money or our private lives? or both? or neither?

Hence the twin axes of social control and fiscal controls.

[green-man-2010.livejournal.com]

Forgot to add - what makes you think it's Libertarian in outlook?
seems to be neutral and just plots where people are, no blame attached to anyone.

[malasadas.livejournal.com]

Let me just be 100% clear:

You would attribute my support for gay marriage and my belief that marijuana ought to be legal to RIGHT WING sentiments?

[fizzyland.livejournal.com]

The problem as I see it is that axis of more-less government control has a variable, which is the different areas liberals and conservatives want controlled by the government. Not just the degree. How do we account for I guess I'd call social values?

[rasilio.livejournal.com]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_spectrum


If only you were right


Right actually means more government control and left means less.

That is why until the Republicans made the word liberal a dirty word in the 80's it is what libertarians were actually referred to as.

[rasilio.livejournal.com]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_spectrum


If only you were right


Right actually means more government control and left means less.

That is why until the Republicans made the word liberal a dirty word in the 80's it is what libertarians were actually referred to as.

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

Interestingly, the current issue of Reason (which isn't online yet) has a cover story on where libertarians land in the debate - should they stay tenuously allied with the right, should they embrace "liberaltarianism," etc.

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

The Right-Left paradigm has been outdated since 1922, so.......

[readherring.livejournal.com]

Probably since before that. It's been inaccurate since its creation.

[chemchick.livejournal.com]

I found that interesting. According to that chart I'm slightly left leaning economically but quite libertarian.

Economic Left/Right: -2.00
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.90

[policraticus.livejournal.com]

As if money were everything , or could sort everything out.

If money isn't everything, and if it can't sort everything out, why is the regulation of trade, the management of growth and the redistribution of wealth the everlasting preoccupations of the left?

[ytterbius.livejournal.com]

If ANYTHING is EVERYTHING, then that thing has to be Energy. ;)

[stewstewstewdio.livejournal.com]

[pmax3.livejournal.com]

I do too!

[steve-potocin.livejournal.com]

Libertarian Conservativism aw hell yeah!!

[telemann.livejournal.com]

[enders-shadow.livejournal.com]

what do you expect?
you think legal=moral

[frodomyhero.livejournal.com]

I'm with Ghandi and the Dali Lama, good company.

[ytterbius.livejournal.com]

Economic Left/Right: -3.12
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -4.56

[reality-hammer.livejournal.com]

I find it skews left and seeks to place leftists as libertarians.

I prefer the Advocates for Self Government mini-test.

http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz

Of course you do.

[squidb0i.livejournal.com]

Because you're so profoundly addicted to the left/right paradigm that even when you have a visual aid to help you, you're still incapable of comprehending anything off your single axis fantasy.

[squidb0i.livejournal.com]

Done this one before, since someone posts it at least quarterly.
I'm pretty much dead center.

[sandwichwarrior.livejournal.com]

Same here actually, but it still make me think of "The Nuetrals" from Futurama

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

As everything other time I've done quizzes like this over the last 15 years... Firmly in the libertarian left category. Now that's a surprise.

[mijopo.livejournal.com]

http://community.livejournal.com/talk_politics/85917.html?thread=4349341#t4349341

[mijopo.livejournal.com]

Oh, I just took it again, seems I've shifted a bit:


http://www.politicalcompass.org/printablegraph?ec=-8.38&soc=-4.46

[xforge.livejournal.com]

Ahhhhhhhhh ha haaaaaaaaa

Economic Left/Right: -8.00
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -7.08

I'll be over here in my robes smoking pot. = )

An extremist...

[sophia-sadek.livejournal.com]

... and a braggart to boot.

[dwer.livejournal.com]

far left libertarian for me.

[dwer.livejournal.com]

derp.

Economic Left/Right: -8.00
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -8.67

[readherring.livejournal.com]

I don't know about this test. Some of the questions were vague, and many of them dealt with stereotypes of different political groups, rather than dealing with politics. For example:
Abstract art that doesn't represent anything shouldn't be considered art at all.
Astrology accurately explains many things.
I like cheese.

I don't think there's any more value to the results of an unscientific internet test than there is to what we 'self proclaim' ourselves to be. I'm not saying that there's no value to either of them - I think that in general, we know where our muddle of beliefs put us on the muddle of political spectra.

Did anyone taking this test get a result other than what was generally expected?

[pmax3.livejournal.com]

I got
Economic Left/Right: -0.25
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.18

The social libertarian score is expected, but I feel a bit queesy about being in the left territory in the economic parameter, even though ever so slightly. A year or two ago I would have been well within the right territory. I mean I know my views in this have changed but slightly right of center would have felt more comfortable.

I guess a year spent studying industrial relations has affected me more than I imagined.
Also I think some of the individual questions could make for interesting discussions.

And you are right some of the questions seem arbitrary, and they derive from stereotypes (the abstract art one seems a "genuine" stereotype, but i.d.k.)